System of receiving prerecorded media discs from users

ABSTRACT

A system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users is disclosed. The system may include a control system having a processor capable of accessing a library associating a native bar code with the content of a prerecorded media disc and receiving the identification of a native bar code of a media disc from an optical disc identification system. The system may also include a user interface system having a buy-back activator and being adapted to receive a media disc from a user, where the user interface is capable of communicating a buy-back price to the user. An optical disc identification system may include a disc holder, a light source, a sensor capable of capturing a digital image of the hub of a media disc including a native bar code, and an image processor capable of reading the native bar code from a digital image.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

The present disclosure is related to a system of receiving prerecordedmedia discs from users.

Movies and videos games, collectively, “media,” increasingly come inmany formats of optical discs, with DVD and Blu-ray® being two examplesof common movie formats. These media discs are purchased by consumers inever larger quantities. Frequently, consumers tire of the movies and/orgames they have previously purchased and desire to dispose of the usedmedia discs. As a result, a used movie and game industry has developedbased upon purchasing or buying-back used media discs from consumers andreselling those used media discs. This industry in essence recycles theused media discs. The user selling a used media disc is given a creditthat often encourages the purchase of a new movie or game to replace theused movie or game sold back. The purchaser of the used media disc isthen able to sell the used media disc to a new consumer.

Buying back used media discs from consumers has been challenging becauseof the difficulty in verifying the identify or content of the used mediadisc. The value of a media disc is determined by the content of thatdisc and as such the purchaser must correctly identify the disc in orderto offer an appropriate buy-back price to the consumer. Errors inidentifying the content of a used media disc are therefore very costlyto those purchasing the used discs from consumers. As a result, the usedmovie and game industry has often required employees to manuallyidentify the content of each used media disc so that an appropriatebuy-back price could be offered to the consumer. This manual effortincreased the cost of buying back used media discs and expands thelikelihood of substantially increased shrinkage or theft of the boughtback discs. There continues to be a need for improved systems andmethods for receiving prerecorded media discs from consumers in order toreduce costs and streamline the buy-back transactions.

Presently disclosed is a system of receiving prerecorded media discsfrom users comprising a control system having a processor capable ofaccessing a library associating a native bar code with the content of aprerecorded media disc, receiving the identification of a native barcode of a prerecorded media disc from an optical disc identificationsystem adapted to read a native bar code on a prerecorded media disc,identifying the content of the prerecorded media disc read by theoptical disc identification system by the native bar code when in thelibrary, directing a disc transfer system to store the prerecorded mediadisc in a selected location of a disc storage system, and storing in amemory of the control system the selected location and content or nativebar code of each prerecorded media disc; and a user interface systemoperably connected to the control system and adapted to receive aprerecorded media disc from a user, and including a buy-back activatorand at least one browsing and selection station operable by a user, theuser interface system capable of receiving from the control system anidentification of the content of the received media disc, communicatingto the user a buy-back price provided by the control system for thereceived media disc, and directing credit of a user account for thebuy-back price of the received media disc.

Also disclosed is a system of receiving prerecorded media discs fromusers comprising a control system having a processor capable ofaccessing a library associating native bar codes with content ofprerecorded media discs, receiving the identification of a native barcode of a prerecorded media disc from an optical disc identificationsystem adapted to read a native bar code on a prerecorded media disc andreceiving the identification of the content of said media disc by a discdrive capable of reading at least part of the content of the prerecordedmedia discs, identifying the content of the prerecorded media read bythe optical disc identification system and the content of prerecordedmedia disc identified by the disc drive, comparing the content of thereceived media disc identified by the native bar code with thatidentified by the disc drive, transferring information to a userinterface when the identified contents do not match, directing a disctransfer system to store the prerecorded media discs in selectedlocations of a disc storage system, and storing in a memory system theselected location and content of each prerecorded media disc; and theuser interface system operably connected to the control system andadapted to receive a prerecorded media disc from a user, and including abuy-back activator and at least one browsing and selection stationoperable by a user, the user interface system is capable of receivingfrom the control system an identification of the content of the receiveddisc, communicating to the user a buy-back price provided by the controlsystem for the received disc, and directing credit of a user account forthe buy-back price of the received disc.

Also disclosed is an optical disc identification system comprising adisc holder adapted to support a prerecorded media disc to expose acenter hub of the media disc, a light source positioned to illuminate atleast a portion of the hub of the media disc in the disc holder, asensor capable of capturing a digital image of at least a portion of thehub including a native bar code on the media disc, and an imageprocessor capable of reading the native bar code from the digital image.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a kiosk for receiving prerecorded mediadiscs from users.

FIG. 2A is a captured image of the center hub of a prerecorded mediadisc including a native bar code.

FIG. 2B is an image of another native bar code for a prerecorded mediadisc.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating operation of a system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an alternative operation of a systemof receiving prerecorded media discs from users.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for identifying aprerecorded media disc.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an alternative method for identifyinga prerecorded media disc.

FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate an optical disc identification system.

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the optical disc identification system ofFIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the optical disc identification systemreading a native bar code.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of an optical disc identification systemreading the top side of a prerecorded media disc.

FIG. 11 illustrates the light guide of the optical disc identificationsystem of FIG. 7.

FIG. 12 illustrates the light shield of the optical disc identificationsystem of FIG. 7.

FIG. 13 illustrates the sensor shield of the optical disc identificationsystem of FIG. 7.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method for reading a native barcode and identifying the content of a prerecorded media disc.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view illustrating an installation of an opticaldisc identification system in a kiosk.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view illustrating an alternative installationof an optical disc identification system in a kiosk.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring generally to FIGS. 1 through 16, a system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users is disclosed. As described below, thesystem may comprise a control system and a user interface system. Thecontrol system may have a processor capable of accessing a libraryassociating native bar codes and content of prerecorded media discs,receiving the identification of a native bar code of a prerecorded mediadisc from an optical disc identification system adapted to read a nativebar code on a prerecorded media disc, identifying the content of theprerecorded media disc read by the optical disc identification system bythe native bar code when in the library, directing a disc transfersystem to store the prerecorded media disc in a selected location of adisc storage system, and storing in a memory of the control system theselected location and content or native bar code of each prerecordedmedia disc. The user interface system may be adapted to receive aprerecorded media disc from a user, may be operably connected to thecontrol system, and may include at least one browsing and selectionstation operable by a user and have a buy-back activator. The userinterface system may be capable of receiving from the control system anidentification of the content of the prerecorded media disc receivedfrom the user, communicating to the user a buy-back price provided bythe control system for the prerecorded media disc, and directing creditof a user account where the user accepts the buy-back price for theprerecorded media disc received from a user. The system may be appliedto prerecorded media discs including CD's, DVD's, HD DVD's, Blu-ray®discs, Wii® games, Playstation® games, Nintendo® games, Xbox® games, andother media discs that may include a native bar code.

The system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users may beimplemented in a kiosk. Referring to FIG. 1, a kiosk 20 may include acabinet 21 including front panel 22, side panel 23, and top panel 24.The kiosk 20 may have supports 25. The kiosk 20 may include otherfeatures such as a cover dispensing system 26, receipt printer 27,magnetic card reader 28, or bar code scanner 29. Such features may ormay not be included depending upon the desired operations of the kiosk20. The kiosk 20 may have touch screen monitors 35, 36 for communicatingwith a user. The kiosk 20 may also have a transfer slot 37 through whicha prerecorded media disc may be passed. The prerecorded media disc maypass into or out of the kiosk 20 through the transfer slot 37 dependingupon the desired operation of the system.

Alternatively, the system of receiving prerecorded media discs fromusers may be implemented in other configurations or devices. Forexample, the system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users maybe implemented in a desktop or counter top device adapted to receive alimited number of media discs. For clarity, the system of receivingprerecorded media discs may be described with reference to the kioskimplementation, but it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art that the system may be implemented in these other configurationsand devices as well.

The system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users includes acontrol system having a processor capable of accessing a libraryassociating a native bar code and content of the prerecorded media disc.The control system may be implemented in hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software. The processor may be a computer,microprocessor, or other equivalent device capable of implementing thecontrol system.

A prerecorded media disc may be identified by a native bar code presenton the disc. Referring to FIG. 2A, an image of the center portion of aprerecorded media disc is shown. A prerecorded media disc has a centeropening 30, a hub 31, and a content portion 32. The center opening 30 istypically sized to secure the media disc to a protrusion in a jewel caseor other holding device. The hub 31 may contain markings or indicationsof the disc. As show in FIG. 2A, the hub 31 of the media disc containsthe PlayStation® logo indicating the disc is for a Playstation® gamesystem. The content portion 32 may be described as the portion of thedisc beyond the hub. For a single sided media disc, the disc may have atop side in which the content portion 32 contains artwork, and a bottomside for which the content portion 32 contains the optically readabledata or disc content. For a double sided media disc, both the top sideand bottom side may contain optically readable data or disc content.

The media disc may contain a native bar code 33 as illustrated in FIG.2A. The native bar code 33 may be located on the hub 31. Alternatively,the native bar code 33 may be located on the content portion 32, such ason part of the artwork side of a media disc. In yet another alternative,the native bar code 33 may be located on the content portion 32 overlaidwith the optically readable data. The native bar code 33 may be atwo-dimensional bar code as illustrated in FIG. 2A. Such bar codestypically include a pattern of alternating white and black lines ofvarying widths. Other bar codes include a pattern of alternating linesof various shades. The native bar code 33 may form an arc around aportion of the media disc or may be placed in a straight line. In yetanother alternative, the native bar code may include other shapes orcolors forming a unique pattern. Referring to FIG. 2B, an alternativenative bar code 34 is illustrated that is formed from triangles ofdiffering colors. The term native bar code as used herein is intended toencompass these various forms of identifying markings. As will beapparent, various bar code styles may be utilized with the presentlydisclosed system. Additional information on the placement of native barcodes on media discs is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,110,544.

The control system may have a processor capable of accessing a libraryassociating a native bar code and content of the prerecorded media disc.The content of the prerecorded media disc may include the informationnecessary to uniquely identify the media disc for inventory management.For example, a given movie on DVD and the same movie on Blu-ray® may beconsidered to be different content and may be associated with differentnative bar codes. Similarly, a given game title for a Playstation® gamesystem would be different content than the same game title for theX-Box® game system. In addition, the manufacturers of prerecorded mediadiscs may use more than one native bar code to identify a given mediadisc. For example, the native bar code may be changed betweenmanufacturing lots, or if the same title is produced by more than onemanufacturer, each manufacturer may use a different native bar code forthe given title. Therefore, the library may associate one or more nativebar codes with a single prerecorded media disc content or title. Thelibrary may include a database, spreadsheet, or other data managementsystem capable of maintaining the relationship between the native barcodes and the content of the prerecorded media discs.

The control system may also be capable of receiving the identificationof a native bar code of a prerecorded media disc from an optical discidentification system adapted to read a native bar code on a prerecordedmedia disc. An optical disc identification system may be capable ofidentifying the native bar code on a prerecorded media disc andcommunicating the identification of that native bar code to the controlsystem. Identifying the native bar code may entail identifying theformat of the native bar code and, once identified, reading the nativebar code. The identification of the native bar code may then betransferred to the control system as a number or in another form to beprocessed by the control system. In one example, the optical discidentification system may include an image sensor capable of capturingan image of the native bar code on the prerecorded media disc asdescribed in greater detail below.

The control system may be further capable of identifying the content ofthe prerecorded media disc read by the optical disc identificationsystem by the native bar code when in the library. After receiving theidentification of the native bar code from an optical discidentification system, the control system may access the library toassociate the native bar code to the content of a prerecorded mediadisc. If the native bar code is in the library, the control system maybe able to identify the content or title of the prerecorded media discassociated with that native bar code. If the native bar code is not inthe library, the control system may or may not be able to identify thecontent of the prerecorded media discs. In some implementations, thecontrol system may attempt to acquire an identification of the contentof the prerecorded media disc from the user. In other implementationsthe control system may attempt to acquire an identification of thecontent of the prerecorded media disc by employing an optical disc drivesystem to read data from the content portion of the prerecorded mediadisc. The control system may use data read from the content portion ofthe disc to identify the contents of the prerecorded media disc.

The control system may be further capable of directing a disc transfersystem to store the prerecorded media disc in a selected location of adisc storage system, and may store in a memory of the control system theselected location and content or native bar code of each prerecordedmedia disc. Upon identifying the content of the prerecorded media disc,the disc may be stored in a disc storage system such as that illustratedin FIGS. 15 and 16. The control system may allocate a unique bin orstorage location for each disc title such that multiple discs having thesame content are stored together. Alternatively, the control system mayallow prerecorded media discs having different content to be comingledin one or more bins or storage locations. The control system may storein memory the selected location and identity of each prerecorded mediadisc in the disc storage system. This stored information may be used tofacilitate retrieval of the discs for removal from the disc storagesystem.

The system for receiving prerecorded media discs from users may alsoinclude a user interface system operably connected to the control systemand adapted to receive a prerecorded media disc from a user. A user mayinterface with the system for receiving prerecorded media discs in atleast two ways. First, communication between the system and the user maybe provided, such as the user activating a buy-back feature of thesystem, the system communicating a buy-back price to the user, and theuser accepting or rejecting the buy-back price. Other communicationbetween the system and the user is also contemplated and may beperformed using the user interface system. Second, a user may interfacewith the system to deposit a prerecorded media disc to the system and/orreceive a prerecorded media disc from the system. The user interfacesystem may encompass these and other interactions between the user andthe system as desired for the system to receive a prerecorded media discfrom a user.

The user interface system may be operably connected to the controlsystem. In one example, the user interface system and control systemshare a physical, wired connection. In another example, the userinterface system and control system may be implemented and connectedstrictly through software interfaces. As will be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art, the control system and user interface systemmay include a variety of hardware and/or software components connectedthrough conventional methods.

The user interface system may also be adapted to receive a prerecordedmedia disc from a user. The user interface system may operate inconnection with hardware such as a transfer slot 37 in a kiosk 20, asillustrated in FIG. 1. In other configurations, the user interfacesystem may receive a prerecorded media disc from a user using a tray,slide, or other suitable device for supporting a media disc.

The user interface system may include at least one browsing andselection station operable by a user. The user interface system may alsoinclude a buy-back activator. In one example, the browsing and selectionstation may include one or more touch screen monitors. For example, akiosk 20 may have two touch screen monitors 35, 36 as illustrated inFIG. 1. In another example, the browsing and selection station mayinclude a monitor for displaying information to the user and a keypadadapted for user input. The buy-back activator may be a button on atouch screen monitor or keypad that a user may press to indicate thebeginning of a buy-back transaction. Alternatively, the buy-backactivator may be a switch activated when the user inserts a prerecordedmedia disc into the user interface system. When the buy-back activatoris activated by the user's action, the user interface system maycommunicate the beginning of a buy-back operation to the control system.

The user interface system may also be capable of receiving from thecontrol system an identification of the content of the prerecorded mediadisc received from the user. The user interface system may receive theidentification of the received media disc from the control system andpresent the identification of the received media disc to the user. Theuser may be able to view the identification of the received media discto ensure the user deposited the correct disc into the system.Alternatively, the user may be asked to confirm the identification ofthe received media disc as confirmation that the buy-back transactionshould proceed. In yet another example, the user identification systemmay display the identification of the received media disc as part of thescheme or background on the user interface for the remainder of abuy-back transaction.

The user interface system may also be capable of communicating to theuser a buy-back price provided by the control system for the receivedmedia disc. The control system may be capable of accessing a databasecontaining one or more buy-back prices for prerecorded media discs. Thecontrol system may use the identification of the content of theprerecorded media disc to determine a buy-back price from a buy-backprice database and communicate the price to the user interface system.The user interface system may present the buy-back price for theprerecorded media disc to the user allowing the user to accept or rejectthe offered price. If the user accepts the offered price for theprerecorded media disc, a buy-back transaction may proceed. If the userrejects the offered price, the buy-back transaction may be terminated.

The user interface system may also be capable of directing credit of auser account where the user accepts the buy-back price for the receivedmedia disc. The user interface may direct credit of a user account forthe buy-back price of a received media disc when the user accepts thebuy-back price offered. The user interface may direct the control systemto issue a credit or alternatively the user interface system maycommunicate with another system to direct credit to the user account.The user account may be a credit card account. In one example, a usermay be required to present a credit card to a magnetic card readerduring a transaction and the credit for the buy-back price may beapplied to the user's credit card. In another example, the credit may beapplied to gift card, such as a retail store gift card. The system mayinclude or communicate with a gift card dispenser. Alternatively, theuser may present a gift card to a magnetic card reader and the gift cardmay be credited in a manner similar to crediting of a user's creditcard.

In another example, the system of receiving prerecorded media discs fromusers may include a control system having a processor capable ofaccessing a library associating native bar codes with content ofprerecorded media discs, receiving the identification of a native barcode of a prerecorded media disc from an optical disc identificationsystem adapted to read a native bar code on a prerecorded media disc andreceiving the identification of the content of said media disc by a discdrive capable of reading at least part of the content of the prerecordedmedia discs, identifying the content of the prerecorded media read bythe optical disc identification system and the content of prerecordedmedia disc identified by the disc drive, comparing the content of thereceived media disc identified by the native bar code with thatidentified by the disc drive, transferring information to a userinterface when the identified contents do not match, directing a disctransfer system to store the prerecorded media discs in selectedlocations of a disc storage system, and storing in a memory system theselected location and content of each prerecorded media disc.

A disc drive, such as an optical disc drive, may be capable of readingat least a portion of the content of a prerecorded media disc. Thecontent of the prerecorded media disc read by the disc drive may becommunicated to the control system and the control system may be capableof identifying the prerecorded media disc by the data read from themedia disc by the disc drive. In this manner, the control system may becapable of receiving identifying information for a prerecorded mediadisc from an alternative or additional source thereby allowingidentification of discs for which the native bar code cannot be read oris not yet associated with a prerecorded media disc. Additionally, thecontrol system may compare the identification of the media disc usingthe native bar code with the identification of the media disc using thedisc drive to confirm that the independent identifications areconsistent. This may provide a method for verifying the accuracy of thenative bar code identification or accommodating those discs that do notcontain a native bar code. If the identifications of the prerecordedmedia discs do not match, the control system may direct the userinterface to alert the user to the error. The control system may alsoterminate a buy-back transaction if the identifications do not match.The ability to identify the content of a media disc using both thenative bar code and an optical disc drive provides additionalflexibility for the control system and may permit the system to handle agreater variety of media discs.

Referring generally to FIGS. 3 and 4, illustrative examples of theoperation of the system of receiving prerecorded media discs from usersare shown. Referring to FIG. 3, a user or customer may select thebuy-back option, such as by activating the buy-back activator of theuser interface system (41). The customer may then be prompted to insertor deposit a prerecorded media disc (42) such that the user interfacesystem may receive the disc from the user (43). If a native bar code ispresent on the received disc, the native bar code may be read by anoptical disc identification system and the identification of the nativebar code communicated to the control system so the control system mayidentify the content of the received disc, such as the disc title (44).If the disc title is not acceptable for buy-back or if the contents ofthe disc or disc title cannot be identified, the buy-back transactionmay be terminated (45) and the disc returned to the user (53). Whetheror not a specific disc is acceptable for buy-back may depend upon thetitle of the disc, the quality or readability of the disc, or otherfactors that may be specified. In one example, if the disc title isacceptable for buy-back the system may then determine the readability ofthe disc (46). The readability of the disc may be determined bytransferring the disc to an optical disc drive and verifying that thecontents of the disc may be successfully read. Alternatively, thereadability of a disc may be determined by transferring the disc to adisc quality measuring device, such as the Checkflix Certifier device.If the disc is not acceptably readable, the system may terminate thebuy-back transaction (47) and return the disc to the user or customer(53). If the disc is acceptable for buy-back, the control system maydetermine a buy-back price, such as by accessing a buy-back pricedatabase as previously discussed, and the buy-back price for theprerecorded media disc may be presented to the user through the userinterface system (48). If the user declines or rejects the offeredbuy-back price, the transaction may be terminated (49) and the discreturned to the user (53). If the customer accepts the offered buy-backprice for the media disc (50), the user may be prompted to select thetype of credit desired, such as a credit to the user's credit card orretail store credit (51). The system may then direct a credit for thebuy-back price to be issued in accordance with the user's selection(52).

Referring to FIG. 4, an alternative sequence for operation of the systemof receiving prerecorded media discs from users is shown. The user orcustomer may select the buy-back option, such as by activating thebuy-back activator of the user interface system (41). The customer maythen be prompted to identify the contents of the prerecorded media disc,such as the title of a movie or game and the format of the disc such asDVD or Blu-ray® (56). If the disc identified by the user is notacceptable for buy-back, the transaction may be terminated (57). If thedisc identified by the user is acceptable for buy-back the controlsystem may determine a buy-back price for the identified disc andcommunicate the buy-back price to the user interface system forpresentation to the customer (58). If the customer accepts the buy-backprice, the customer may be prompted to deposit the prerecorded mediadisc (59). The native bar code of the received disc may be read and thecontrol system may verify that the user identification of the discmatches the identification of the disc using the native bar code (60).In some embodiments, the readability of the disc may also be evaluatedas described above (60). If the contents of the disc cannot be verified,the native bar code identification does not match the useridentification, or the disc is not acceptably readable, the system mayterminate the buy-back transaction (61) and return the received discback to the user (62). If the disc contents are verified and the disc isotherwise acceptable for buy-back, the system may prompt the user toselect the type of credit desired, such as a credit to the user's creditcard or a retail store credit (63). Finally the system may direct acredit in the amount of the accepted offered buy-back price to be issuedaccording to the user's selection (64).

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, the control system may identify thecontents of the prerecorded media discs using the native bar code in avariety of ways. Referring to FIG. 5, after a prerecorded media disc hasbeen received by the user interface system, an optical discidentification system may read the native bar code on the receive disc(71). If the native bar code is successfully read, the identification ofthe native bar code may be communicated to the control system and thecontrol system may access the library associating native bar codes withthe content of prerecorded media discs to identify the disc (72).Alternatively, if the native bar code is not successfully read, thecontrol system may direct a disc transfer system to move the receiveddisc to an optical disc drive to determine the contents of the disc(73). If the native bar code is successfully identified but the librarydoes not contain an association of that native bar code to the contentsof a media disc, the media disc may also be moved to an optical discdrive to determine the disc contents (74). If the disc contents areidentified by the optical disc drive, the contents of the prerecordedmedia disc may be associated with the native bar code on the prerecordedmedia disc and the association stored in the library for future use(76). If the contents of the prerecorded media disc are successfullyidentified and the disc is acceptable for buy-back, the control systemmay determine a buy-back price and offer the buy-back price to the userthrough the user interface system (76). If the user accepts the offeredbuy-back price, the user may be prompted to select the type of creditdesired (77) and the system may direct a credit in the amount of thebuy-back price to be issued according to the user's selection (78). Asdescribed above, the system of receiving prerecorded media discs may ormay not have access to one or more optical disc drives capable ofreading the prerecorded media discs. If an optical disc drive is notpresent, the buy-back transaction may be terminated by the system whenthe disc contents cannot be identified.

Referring to FIG. 6, another method of identifying the contents ofprerecorded media discs using the native bar code is illustrated. Inthis example, a user identification of the disc contents may betemporarily relied upon to dynamically build the library associatingnative bar codes with contents of prerecorded media discs. A first usermay present a first disc to the system of receiving prerecorded mediadiscs, and the native bar code on the first disc may be read by anoptical disc identification system (81). Assuming the native bar code isnot found in the library, the user may be prompted to identify thecontents of the prerecorded media disc deposited to the system (82). Theuser identification of the first disc content may then be temporarilyassociated with the native bar code of the first disc read by theoptical disc identification system to create a first probationary entryin the library, and a buy-back price offered relying upon the user'sidentification of the disc contents (83). Subsequent to the first userpresenting a first disc, a second user may present a second disc and thenative bar code on the second disc may be read by an optical discidentification system (84). If the native bar code is not found in thelibrary or is only found in a probationary entry, the user may beprompted to identify the disc contents (85). The user identification ofthe second disc content may then be temporarily associated with thenative bar code of the second disc read by the optical discidentification system to create a second probationary entry in thelibrary (86). A determination may then be made as to whether the firstprobationary entry and the second probationary entry match indicatingthat two separate users have consistently identified the contents ofprerecorded media discs having the same native bar code (87). If theprobationary entries match, a verified association of the native barcode with the contents of the prerecorded disc as identified by the usermay be stored in the library, and the second user may be offered abuy-back credit for the received disc (88). If the probationary entriesdo not match, the system may decline to offer the second user a buy-backprice due to the uncertainty in the identification of the disc contentsand the credit previously issued to the first user may be rescinded(89).

As will be apparent, the system of receiving prerecorded media discsfrom users may be operated in numerous ways in addition to the examplesgiven in FIGS. 3 through 6 above. For example, the sequence of steps maybe altered and various steps may be added or omitted to produce thedesired transaction process for a user. Additionally, using the methodsdescribed in FIGS. 5 and 6, the library associating native bar codeswith the content of prerecorded media discs may be automatically updatedand expanded as media discs having native bar codes not previouslyidentified are presented to the system. In this manner, the system maygrow and adapt and the costs associated with maintaining the library maybe reduced.

The system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users may alsoinclude other features and capabilities as described below. The userinterface system may be capable of transferring a received prerecordedmedia disc to an optical disc identification system. Alternatively, theoptical disc identification system may be part of the user interfacesystem and be adapted to read the received prerecorded media disc onreceipt of the media disc from the user. The optical disc identificationsystem and user interface system may thus be separate components or maybe integrated within the overall system. In one example, the opticaldisc identification system may be integrated with a transfer slot 37 ofa kiosk 20 as illustrated in FIG. 1 such that the user interface systemmay receive a disc directly into the optical disc identification system.

The user interface system may also be capable of receiving anidentification of the content of the prerecorded media disc from theuser and communicating such user identification to the control system.The control system may be capable of comparing a user identification ofthe content of the prerecorded media disc with the content identified bythe native bar code. The system may utilize the user identification forvarious purposes. For example, the user may be asked to identify thedisc so that the system may determine and offer a buy-back price priorto the disc being received by the user interface system. If the userdeclines the buy-back price, this would reduce wear on the systembecause the user could decline to insert the disc. Alternatively, theuser identification may serve as confirmation that the media disc hasbeen properly identified by the optical disc identification system. Inyet another alternative, the user may be asked to identify the disc toprovide an activity for the user while the system is processing thedisc. By providing activity for the user, the system may be more userfriendly and the user's attention may be drawn to advertising or othermarketing information displayed on the user interface system.

The optical disc identification system may also be capable of checkingthe quality of the received media disc. Various techniques are presentlyknown for assessing the quality or readability of an optical media disc.The quality or readability of a media disc may thus be determined aspart of the operations of the system of receiving prerecorded mediadiscs. By assessing the quality, only those discs meeting a predefinedquality measure may be bought-back from the user thereby reducing costsassociated with defective or damaged discs. The user interface systemmay also be capable of dispensing back to the user a received disc thatdoes not meet a given quality standard. The quality standard may beestablished based upon the requirements of the system owner and may bechanged as desired. Additionally, a different quality standard may beestablished for different types of media discs if desired. In yetanother example, a measure of the quality of the received media disc maybe transferred to the control system and the control system may adjustthe buy-back price displayed to the user based upon the measured qualityof the received disc. In this manner, the system may buy-back lowquality or defective media discs at a discount thereby providing abenefit to the user and encouraging continued use of the system. In somecases, low quality or defective media discs may be repaired orrefurbished and sold at a discount.

The system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users may alsoinclude a communication system capable of at least periodically updatinga buy-back price database with prices for used prerecorded media discs.A buy-back price database may be stored locally by the system for useduring normal operations. Alternatively, the buy-back price database maybe stored on a central or regional server and accessed as required bythe system. The buy-back price database may be updated periodically orcontinually by the communication system. In this manner, the buy-backprice database may better reflect current market prices for the usedmedia discs being bought-back by the system and allow for more costeffective operation of the system.

The control system may also be capable of instructing the user interfacesystem to dispense back to the user a received disc that cannot beidentified by the native bar code. The disc may be dispensed backthrough a transfer slot 37 such as is illustrated in FIG. 1. The discmay also be dispensed back by allowing the user to access the media,such as by opening a door or tray exposing the media disc so the usermay retrieve the disc.

The control system may also be capable of identifying a prerecordedmedia disc whose native bar code is not present in the library andupdating the library associating such native bar code with the contentof the prerecorded media disc. As previously described with respect toFIGS. 5 and 6, the control system may identify a media disc whose nativebar code is not present in the library by receiving data from an opticaldisc drive reading the contents of the media disc. Alternatively, thecontrol system may receive an identification of the contents of theprerecorded media disc from the user through the user interface system.The control system may rely upon these alternative identifications withor without additional verification, and update the library associatingthe native bar code with the content of the media disc as desired.

The library associating native bar codes with the content of prerecordedmedia discs may be stored locally with the control system or may belocated at a central or regional location and accessed through acommunication network. If stored locally, the library may be updatedperiodically, for example daily or weekly, from a server or centrallibrary upon which multiple control systems rely. Additionally, alibrary may communicate with a plurality of control systems and may becapable of verifying an association of a newly added native bar codewith the content of a prerecorded media disc identified by one or morecontrol systems. The library may serve as a central repository of allassociated native bar codes and may integrate information received frommultiple control systems to update and add to the library.

The control system may be capable of directing the debit of a creditpreviously issued to a user in the amount of the buy-back price paid fora received media disc when the control system is unable to verify theassociation between the native bar code and the identification of thecontent of the prerecorded media disc.

The system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users may alsoinclude receiving the jewel case or other type of case for the mediadisc from the user. In one example, the user interface system may becapable of reading a bar code from a case associated with the content ofthe prerecorded media disc. The case bar code may be read using a barcode scanner 29 of a kiosk 20 as illustrated in FIG. 1. Alternatively,other bar code scanners may be used. The case bar code may be a UPC codeor similar bar code applied to the case of the media disc.

The user interface system may also be capable of transferring suchidentification of the bar code from the case to the control system, andthe control system may be capable of comparing the disc contentassociated with the case bar code with the disc content associated withthe native bar code of the received disc identified by the optical discidentification system. The control system may also be capable ofdirecting the user interface system to inform the user when the disccontent associated with the native bar code does not agree with the disccontent associated with the case bar code.

The optical disc identification system may be capable of capturing adigital image of at least a portion of a center hub of a received mediadisc containing a native bar code and reading the native bar code fromthe digital image of the hub of the received media disc. An example of acaptured digital image of a received disc is shown in FIG. 2A. Asillustrated the captured image includes the center opening 30, the hub31, and may include a portion of the content portion 32 of the mediadisc. The captured image also includes the native bar code 33. Thenative bar code 33 may be identified in the captured image and decodedby an image processor or a control system to identify the content of thenative bar code so that the content of the prerecorded media disc can bedetermined.

The system of receiving prerecorded media discs may be applied tosystems handling bare discs. Here bare discs refer to media discs thatare not in a case such as a jewel case or other covering. The ability toaccess the surface of the disc may facilitate identification of thenative bar code and may facilitate the use of optical disc drives toread the content of the prerecorded media discs. In anotherconfiguration, the system of receiving prerecorded media discs may beapplied to systems capable of handling prerecorded media discs in a casewhere the optical disc identification system is capable of reading thenative bar code on the received media disc through a window in the case.For example, a typical jewel case may be configured with a window oropening positioned to expose the hub of a prerecorded media disc housedin the case thereby allowing the optical disc identification system toidentify the native bar code from the hub of the media disc. Similarly apaper or plastic sleeve may be configured with an opening positioned toexpose the hub of the media disc allowing for identification of thenative bar code.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 through 13, an example optical discidentification system is illustrated. An optical disc identificationsystem may include a disc holder adapted to support a prerecorded mediadisc to expose a center hub of the media disc, a light source positionedto illuminate at least a portion of the hub of the media disc in thedisc holder, a sensor capable of capturing a digital image of at least aportion of the hub including a native bar code on the media disc, and animage processor capable of reading the native bar code from the digitalimage. The optical disc identification system may also include a mirrorpositioned to reflect an image of a surface of the media discilluminated by the light source, where the sensor is capable ofcapturing the reflected image from the mirror of at least a portion ofthe surface of the media disc through an opening in the center hub ofthe media disc, and the image processor is capable of comparing thereflected image captured by the sensor with a library of art workassociated with the content of prerecorded media discs to identify thecontent of the media disc.

Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, a perspective view and cross-section viewof an example optical disc identification system 100 are illustrated.The optical disc identification system 100 is illustrated in a generallyvertical or upright fashion, but it will be apparent the discidentification 100 system may be inverted or arranged in otherconfigurations consistent with this disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7A, theoptical disc identification system 100 may be housed in a partial tube102 or other structure suitable for supporting the components of theoptical disc identification system 100. The partial tube 102 may have aninner radius slightly larger than the radius of a prerecorded media discto accommodate media discs while reducing the overall spacerequirements. In one example, the media discs may have a diameter ofabout 120 mm. Other structures of differing shapes and configurationsmay be utilized to support the optical disc identification system andthe support structure may be designed to integrate into the environmentin which the optical disc identification system will be employed.

The optical disc identification system 100 may have a first disc holder104, a light source 110, and a sensor 130. The first disc holder 104 maybe adapted to support a prerecorded media disc while exposing a centerhub of the media disc. The light source 110 may be positioned toilluminate a least a portion of the hub of the media disc supported bythe first disc holder 104. The sensor 130 may be capable of capturing adigital image of at least a portion of the hub of the media discincluding a native bar code.

In one example, the sensor 130 may be a digital image sensor capable ofcapturing digital images. The sensor 130 may be secured to a sensorsupport 134 to position the sensor 130 in the desired location withinthe optical disc identification system 130. The sensor 130 may have acable 136 or other equivalent connection for communication with an imageprocessor or control system. The sensor 130 may be controllable andconfigurable through software, and the sensor 130 may be able totransmit the captured digital images to an image processor or othercontrol system for subsequent processing. In another example, the sensormay contain an integrated image processor capable of processing thecaptured images. The sensor 130 may be able to capture one or moreimages in rapid succession and may transmit multiple images to an imageprocessor or control system. A sensor shield 132 may be provided toreduce interference from excess or stray light sources that may reducethe quality of the captured digital images. An example sensor shield 132is illustrated in FIGS. 13A-B. The sensor shield 132 may be a discapproximately 120 mm in diameter with a center opening 138 correspondingto the center opening of a prerecorded media disc. The sensor shield 132may be made of an opaque material. Alternatively, the sensor shield 132may be coated or painted to limit the passage of light other thanthrough the center opening.

The optical disc identification system 100 may also have a light source110. The light source may be capable of illuminating at least a portionof the center hub of a prerecorded media disc. The light source 110 mayalso be capable of illuminating at least a portion of the surface of aprerecorded media disc. As shown in FIG. 8, the light source 110 mayinclude a light guide 112, a light shield 114, and a plurality of lightemitting diodes (“LED's”) 118. The optical disc identification systemmay also include a first disc holder 104 and a second disc holder 106.The first disc holder 104 and the second disc holder 106 may each alsoinclude a pair of disc supports 108. In the example shown in FIG. 8, thefirst disc holder 104 and the second disc holder 106 are positioned onopposite sides of the light source 110.

The disc supports 108 may contact the content portion of the media discand form a pivot axis for the media disc to facilitate transfer of thedisc within the optical disc identification system. By placing the discsupports 108 under the content portion of the media disc, the center hubof the media disc 140 remains visible to the sensor 130 so that thenative bar code on the media disc may be read. The disc supports 108 maybe formed of a non-scratching material to avoid damaging the contentportion of the media disc.

The light source 110 may be positioned to illuminate at least a portionof the hub of a media disc when the media disc is supported by the firstdisc holder 104. The light source 110 may also be capable ofilluminating a surface of the media disc when the media disc issupported by the second disc holder 106. In one example, the media discmay be transferred between the first disc holder 104 and the second discholder 106 to facilitate identification of each side of the media disc.

The light source 110 may include a light guide 112 capable of directinglight produced by the plurality of LED's 118 to a ring opening 116,illustrated in FIGS. 9-11. Referring to FIG. 9, a schematic illustrationof the optical disc identification system configured to capture adigital image of the hub of a media disc is illustrated. As shown, amedia disc 140 may be positioned above the ring opening 116 of the lightguide 112 and supported by a disc holder (not shown in FIG. 9). Thelight source 110 may cause light emitted from a plurality of LED's 118or other light sources to be directed to the ring opening 116 toilluminate the hub 142 of the media disc 140. The light emitted at thering opening 116 illuminating the hub 142 of the media disc 140 may bereferred to as indirect light, dispersed light, or diffused light. Ithas been found that illuminating the hub 142 of the media disc 140 withindirect light can improve the readability of the native bar code on themedia disc 140. In this context, indirect light may refer to lightincident on the media disc at an acute angle relative to the media disc.In one example, light incident at approximately 6° was found to providedesirable results. In another alternative, the light emitted at the ringopening 116 may be incident on the media disc at an angle between, forexample, 5° and 30°.

The light guide 112 may be formed of translucent plastic or othermaterial capable of reflecting the light produced by the plurality ofLED's 118. The light guide 112 may be generally dome shaped with a ringopening 116 and a bottom opening 117 opposite the ring opening. Anexample of a light guide 112 is illustrated in FIG. 11. It has beenfound that by limiting the radius of curvature of the light guide 112,the light produced by the LED's may be reflected within the light guide112 such that the light produced by the LED's is directed through thelight guide from the bottom opening 117 to the ring opening 116. Theradius of curvature may be selected to achieve reflection of the lightwithin the light guide 112 and may be determined based upon therefraction index of the material from which the light guide is formed.In one example, to achieve reflection of the light in the light guide112, the angle of incidence of the light within the light guide 112 maybe limited to less than approximately 42° when the light guide has arefraction index of approximately 1.49. Additionally, the light guide112 may diffuse the light from the individual LED's to form a generallyuniform distribution of the intensity of light emitted at the ringopening 116. In another alternative, a commercially available ring lightsource may be provided for use with the optical disc identificationsystem. A light shield 114 may also be provided within the light guide112 to limit interference of the light emitted at the ring opening 116and light emitted at the bottom opening 117. The light shield 114 may bean opaque ring such as is illustrated in FIG. 12. Other configurationsof the light shield 114 may also be constructed, and the light shieldmay be integrated with the light guide 112. In one example, the lightshield 114 may be an opaque coating applied to the inner surface of thelight guide 112 that limits interference between the light sources. Inother examples, additional light shields may be provided above or belowthe light guide 112 to reduce interference from reflected or ambientlight, or other undesired light sources. For example, a light shieldhaving a center opening corresponding to the ring opening 116 of thelight guide 112 may be provided above the light guide 112 to improve thecaptured image of the hub of a media disc.

Referring to FIG. 9, light path 150 is represented reflecting with thelight guide 112, contacting the hub 142 of the media disc 140, andpassing through the ring opening 116 and bottom opening 117 of the lightguide to be received by the sensor 130. In this configuration, the lightsource 110 illuminates the hub 142 of the media disc 140 and the sensor130 may capture a digital image of the hub of the media disc including anative bar code. In the configuration illustrated in FIG. 9, the minor120 may not be used.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a schematic view of the optical discidentification system is illustrated configured for capturing a digitalimage of the surface of a media disc 140. In this configuration, thelight source 110 illuminates a surface 144 of the media disc 140. Forone-sided discs, the surface 144 of the media disc may be referred to asthe artwork side or top side of the disc. For two-sided discs both thetop side and bottom side of the disc may contain data, and any artworkmay be confined to the central hub portion of the disc. A native barcode may be present on the hub 142 of the media disc on either the topside or bottom side. Additionally, a native bar code may be presentwithin the artwork or other identifying features on the surface 144 ofthe media disc.

The light source 110 may also be capable of illuminating the surface 144of the media disc 140. The LED's 118 may direct light from the bottomopening towards the surface 144 of the media disc. As shown, an image ofthe surface 144 of the media disc 140 may be reflected in the mirror 120and captured by the sensor 130. The sensor 130 may capture the imagereflected from the minor 120 through the center opening 146 of the mediadisc. By using a minor, the optical distance between the surface 144 ofthe media disc 140 and the sensor 130 is increased allowing the sensorto view a larger portion of the surface of the media disc. In oneexample, the sensor 130 may have an adjustable focal length, and thefocal length of the sensor 130 may be set based upon the position of themedia disc on the first disc support or second disc support.

The optical disc identification system may employ a single sensor. Asingle sensor design may reduce the material cost for the system. Inanother example (not shown), two sensors may be used with the opticalidentification system. A second light source may be positioned toilluminate at least a portion of a surface of the media disc oppositethe first light source. A second sensor may be provided to capture adigital image of at least a portion of the surface of the media discilluminated by the second light source and transfer that image to animage processor or control system. A two sensor system may permitcapturing an image of both sides of a prerecorded media disc withoutmoving the prerecorded media disc and therefore reduce the total timerequired to capture images of both sides. For example, the two sensorsmay capture images of the sides of a prerecorded media discsimultaneously, or may capture images of the side of the media discsequentially.

The digital image captured by a sensor in an optical disc identificationsystem may be transferred to an image processor. One example of acaptured digital image of the hub of a media disc is illustrated in FIG.2A. The image processor may be integrated with the sensor, integratedwith a control system, or may be a separate processor capable ofanalyzing the captured image. The image processor may be a generalpurpose processor programmed to process the captured image or mayinclude customized image processing hardware. Many such image processorsare available and may be used with the optical disc identificationsystem.

The image processor may be capable of reading the native bar code fromthe digital image. As described above with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B,the captured image may contain a native bar code. The image processormay be adapted to identify the location of the native bar code withinthe captured image and read or decode the native bar code. The imageprocessor may also be capable of comparing an image of a surface of amedia disc captured by the sensor with a library of art work associatedwith the content of prerecorded media discs to identify the content ofthe media disc. Numerous techniques are known for image comparison andmay be used with the image processor. For example, it may be necessaryto scale or rotate the captured image prior to comparing the capturedimage with artwork from a library. The image processor may also includecharacter recognition software capable of identifying and readingtextual information from the surface of the media disc represented inthe captured image.

The image processor may use a variety of methods to identify the nativebar code from a captured image. Referring now to FIG. 14, an examplemethod of the operation of the optical disc identification system isillustrated. It will be apparent that numerous variations andalterations of this technique may be employed within the scope of thepresent disclosure.

The optical disc identification system may capture one or more digitalimages of the hub of a media disc (161). Multiple images may be capturedby the sensor and the sensor may be adjusted, such as by varyingcontrast and brightness settings, to achieve a desired quality of thecaptured image. The captured images may be stored in an image filesystem (162). The captured images may be stored for subsequentprocessing by the optical disc identification system. Additionally, thecaptured images may be stored for later use to evaluate systemperformance. For example, captured images may be transferred forevaluation by maintenance personnel overseeing the performance of theoptical disc identification system. Once an acceptable captured image isacquired, the image processor may select a linear section of the digitalimage and determine if the linear section intersects a portion of thenative bar code. In one example, the image processor may identify a listof lines or linear segments likely to be tangent to a native bar code(164). As shown in FIG. 2, the native bar code may form an arc withinthe captured image and, in some cases, the identified linear segment maynot intersect the entire length of the native bar code. Once one or morelines or linear segments are identified approximately tangent to thenative bar code in the captured image, the image processor may identifycircles or ellipses tangent to the linear segments (165). The circles orellipses may be adapted to identify a circle or ellipse that intersectsat least a portion of the native bar code. In some configurations, thepair of disc supports may position the prerecorded media disc such thatthe disc is not perpendicular to the sensor. In this configuration, thecaptured image of the prerecorded media disc may appear as an ellipserather than a circle, and using ellipses to read the native bar code maybe more efficient. Alternatively, the image processor may pre-processthe captured image to correct for the offset caused by the disc supportsprior to identifying the native bar code. In any case, the native barcode may then be read along the intersecting circle or ellipse. In oneexample, the image processor may identify an approximate location of thecenter of the media disc and map concentric ellipses from successiveapproximations of the center of the media disc to identify and read thenative bar code of the media disc. In this example, a list of circles orellipses may be utilized (166). Using the information of the native barcode read long the intersecting circle or ellipse, the image processormay identify one or more possible values for the bar code. Due tolimitations of the sensor, dirt or other obscurations on the media disc,or other factors, the image processor may not be capable of reading theentire bar code. In such circumstances, the image processor may identifyseveral possible bar codes conforming to the portion of the native barcode that is readable, and the image processor may assign a score tothose possible native bar codes (167). The score may represent thelikelihood that a possible native bar code is the correct native barcode for a given prerecorded media disc. In another example, the imageprocessor may be capable of reading a portion of a native bar code andreporting the identified portion of the native bar code to a controlsystem. The control system may then be able to compare the possiblenative bar codes matching the portion reported by the image processorwith an alternative identification of the prerecorded media disc, suchas a user identification or an identification achieved using an opticaldisc drive as previously discussed. The image processor may also comparethe native bar code identified in the captured image to the expectedsyntax for known native bar codes (168). Native bar codes, like manymarking systems, may have a predefined syntax or structure that permitsa system to verify that the entire bar code has been decoded. Forexample, a bar code syntax may define a specific starting and endingpattern such that the beginning and end of a bar code may be identified.Other bar code syntaxes may specify a specific length for the bar codeor provide a checksum as is commonly used for error checking purposes.If a native bar code is successfully identified by the image processor,the identification of the native bar code may be used to identify thecontent of the prerecorded media disc (169). For example, a libraryassociating native bar codes with the content of the prerecorded mediadiscs may be accessed (170). Such a library may also associate UPC barcodes or other identifying information to the content of prerecordedmedia discs.

In another example, the captured image may be scanned to identify anative bar code by searching for tangent lines that cross a barcode,searching for ellipses that cross a at least a portion of a barcode,decoding at least a portion of a barcode; and selecting barcodes thatbest match the known pattern of the barcode portion.

To find a tangent line that crosses a barcode, multiple tangent linesmay be identified. An ellipse centered at the center of the capturedimage may be identified. In one example, the ellipse has a radius ofapproximately one-half of the length of the diagonal of the capturedimage and lines tangent to the ellipse may be identified every three (3)degrees around the ellipse. The radius of the ellipse may be reduced andadditional tangent lines identified as necessary until a tangent lineintersects a portion of a barcode in the captured image. To detect thepresent of a barcode intersecting a tangent line, the captured image issampled along a tangent line. To improve performance, additional pixelsof the captured image may be sampled on either side of the tangent line.Sampling multiple pixels and applying a median filter to the pixelvalues may filter or reduce distortions caused by errant light or darkpixels in the captured image. Additional process steps, such as averageor other filtering of the pixel values, may also be employed to improvethe performance of the system. processing steps such as averageFor agrey-scale image, the sampled data from the captured image representsthe relative brightness or darkness of the image along the tangent line.The transitions between these areas of relative brightness and darknessmay then be analyzed for transition patterns corresponding to the syntaxof known barcode formats. For instance, the Code 39 bar code has a knownstarting and ending pattern and a defined syntax for the bars betweenthe starting and ending pattern. Using a histogram of bar widths theimage processor may detect the presence of a bar code. Other bar codeformats may be identified by cross-correlation of the sampled data witha typical barcode format, where a high correlation indicates a portionof a bar code has been identified. Other image processing techniques maybe employed to detect the presence of a bar code intersecting a tangentline, and in some examples, multiple techniques may be employed for eachbarcode style to increase the likelihood of detection.

Once a tangent line intersecting a bar code is identified, the center ofthe identified bar code portion may be determined. Ellipses may then begenerated tangent to the tangent line and intersecting the center of theidentified bar code portion. The ellipses may be formed based upon thedistortion of the captured image resulting from the media disc not beingperpendicular to the image sensor. Alternatively, the captured image maybe preprocessed to reduce or eliminate that distortion, in which casecircles rather than ellipses may be appropriate. In any case, ellipsesof varying radius may be generated and the captured image may be sampledalong the ellipse as described above. Again the sampled data is analyzedto detect transitions between bars of the barcode in the captured image.Depending upon the specific barcode syntax different techniques may beused. For Code 39, it has been found that creating a histogram of thewidth of bars identified in the sampled data is effective foridentifying the presence of a barcode in the sampled data.

Once at least a portion of a barcode is identified, the barcode may bedecoded or converted into characters to be processed by the image sensoror control system. Each barcode format has a predetermined syntax thatmay be used to decode the barcode. For example, a typical Code 39barcode on a DVD movie is represented by a six (6) digit number betweenthe starting and ending markers. Other bar code formats may includedifferent numbers of characters and some formats include a checksum orother validating characters. If an entire barcode is not readable, theportion of the barcode that is identified may be compared against knownbarcode syntaxes to identify matches with known patterns. In this mannerthe optical disc identification system may be able to determine thenative bar code of a prerecorded media disc even if a portion of thebarcode is obscured or otherwise not readable.

An optical disc identification system may employ the methods describedabove to identify a native bar code. Alternatively, other methods may beimplemented using the system presently disclosed. Other features such aserror checking and error reporting may also be incorporated as iscustomary for such systems.

Referring now to FIGS. 15 and 16, an optical disc identification systemis illustrated integrated into a kiosk. A kiosk may include a drum 180adapted to store media discs. As previously discussed, the system forreceiving media discs from users may interface with a disc drive system182 and a disc transfer system 184. As one example, the disc drivesystem 182 and the disc transfer system 184 are illustrated inconnection with the drum 180 of a kiosk. The optical disc identificationsystem may be supported by the drum 180 of a kiosk. In FIG. 15, theoptical disc identification system 100 is shown installed proximate tothe disc drive system 182 and supported on the drum 180. In FIG. 16, theoptical disc identification system 100 is shown integrated with thetransfer slot 186. As previously discussed, the optical discidentification system may be integrated with or part of the userinterface system such that the native bar code on the media disc may beread upon receipt of the media disc from the user.

While certain embodiments have been described, it must be understoodthat various changes may be made and equivalents may be substitutedwithout departing from the sprit or scope. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the disclosure without departing from its spirit orscope.

1. A system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users comprising:a control system having a processor capable of accessing a libraryassociating a native bar code with the content of a prerecorded mediadisc, receiving the identification of a native bar code of a prerecordedmedia disc from an optical disc identification system adapted to read anative bar code on a prerecorded media disc, identifying the content ofthe prerecorded media disc read by the optical disc identificationsystem by the native bar code when in the library, directing a disctransfer system to store the prerecorded media disc in a selectedlocation of a disc storage system, and storing in a memory of thecontrol system the selected location and content or native bar code ofeach prerecorded media disc, and a user interface system operablyconnected to the control system and adapted to receive a prerecordedmedia disc from a user, and including a buy-back activator and at leastone browsing and selection station operable by a user, the userinterface system capable of receiving from the control system anidentification of the content of the received media disc, communicatingto the user a buy-back price provided by the control system for thereceived media disc, and directing credit of a user account for thebuy-back price of the received media disc.
 2. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 1 where the userinterface system is also capable of transferring the received disc tothe optical disc identification system.
 3. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 1 where theoptical disc identification system is part of the user interface systemand is adapted to read the native bar code on receipt of the media discfrom the user.
 4. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs fromusers as claimed in claim 1 where the user interface system is alsocapable of receiving a user identification of the content of theprerecorded media disc and communicating such user identification to thecontrol system, and the control system is capable of comparing the useridentification of the content of the prerecorded disc media with thecontent identified by the native bar code.
 5. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 1 where the userinterface system is capable of receiving from the control system anidentification of a prerecorded media disc read by optical discidentification system and displaying such identification to the user. 6.The system of receiving prerecorded media discs users as claimed inclaim 1 where the optical disc identification system is capable ofchecking the quality of the prerecorded media disc and the userinterface is also capable of dispensing back to the user a received discthat does not meet a given quality standard.
 7. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 1 where theoptical disc identification system is capable of checking the quality ofthe media disc and transferring a measure of the quality to the controlsystem, and the control system is capable of adjusting the buy-backprice displayed to the user by the user interface system based on themeasured quality of the received media disc.
 8. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 1 furthercomprising a communication system capable of at least periodicallyupdating a buy-back price database with prices for used prerecordedmedia discs.
 9. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs fromusers as claimed in claim 8 where the communication system provides acontinual updating of the prices for used prerecorded media discs. 10.The system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users as claimed inclaim 1 where the control system is capable of instructing the userinterface system to dispense back to the user a received media disc thatcannot be identified by the native bar code.
 11. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 1 where thecontrol system is capable of identifying a prerecorded media disc whosenative bar code is not present in the library and updating the libraryassociating such native bar code with the content of the prerecordedmedia disc.
 12. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs fromusers as claimed in claim 11 where the library communicates with otherlike control systems, and is capable of verifying an association of suchnewly added native bar code with content of prerecorded media discidentified by the control system.
 13. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 12 where thecontrol system is also capable of directing debit of a credit previouslyissued to a user for a buy-back price paid for a received disc when thecontrol system is unable to verify the association between the nativebar code and the identification of the prerecorded media disc.
 14. Thesystem of receiving prerecorded media discs from users as claimed inclaim 1 where the user interface system is capable of reading a bar codefrom a case associated with the content of the received disc andtransferring such identification of the case bar code to the controlsystem, and where the control system is capable of comparing the disccontent associated with the case bar code with the disc contentassociated with the native bar code of the received disc identified bythe optical disc identification system and directing the user interfacesystem to inform the user when the disc content associated with thenative bar code does not agree with the disc content associated with thecase bar code.
 15. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs fromusers as claimed in claim 14 where the optical disc identificationsystem comprises: a disc holder adapted to support a received media discto expose a center hub of the media disc, a light source positioned toilluminate at least a portion of the hub of the media disc in the discholder, a sensor capable of capturing a digital image of at least aportion of the hub including a native bar code on the media disc, and animage processor capable of reading the native bar code from the digitalimage.
 16. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users asclaimed in claim 1 where the optical disc identification system iscapable of capturing a digital image of at least a portion of a centerhub of a received media disc containing a native bar code and readingthe native bar code from the digital image of the hub of the receivedmedia disc.
 17. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs fromusers as claimed in claim 1 where the optical disc identification systemcomprises: a disc holder adapted to support a received media disc toexpose a center hub of the media disc, a light source positioned toilluminate at least a portion of the hub of the media disc in the discholder, a sensor capable of capturing a digital image of at least aportion of the hub including a native bar code on the media disc, and animage processor capable of reading the native bar code from the digitalimage.
 18. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users asclaimed in claim 17 where the optical disc identification system furthercomprises: a mirror positioned to reflect an image of a surface of thereceived media disc illuminated by the light source, where the sensor iscapable of capturing the reflected image from the mirror of at least aportion of the surface of the media disc through an opening in thecenter hub of the media disc, and where the control system is capable ofaccessing a library of art work associated with content of prerecordedmedia discs and is capable of comparing the reflected image captured bythe sensor with the art work in the library to identify the content ofthe received media disc.
 19. The system of receiving prerecorded mediadiscs from users as claimed in claim 17 where the optical discidentification system further comprises: a second light sourcepositioned to illuminate at least a portion of a surface of the receivedmedia disc opposite the first light source, a second sensor capable ofcapturing a digital image of at least a portion of the surface of themedia disc illuminated by the second light source and transferring thatdigital image to the control system, and where the control system iscapable of accessing a library of art work associated with content ofprerecorded media discs and is capable of comparing the digital imagecaptured by the second sensor with the art work in the library toidentify the content of the received media disc.
 20. The optical discidentification system as claimed in claim 17 where the light sourcepositioned to illuminate at least a part of the hub of the receivedmedia disc positioned in the disc holder is capable of producing lightselected from the group consisting of indirect light, diffused light,and dispersed light.
 21. The system of receiving prerecorded media discsfrom users as claimed in claim 1 where the prerecorded media discs arebare discs.
 22. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs fromusers as claimed in claim 1 where the prerecorded media disc may be in acase and the optical disc identification system is capable of readingthe native bar code on the received media disc through a window in thecase.
 23. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users asclaimed in claim 1 where the prerecorded media disc may be in a case andthe optical disc identification system is capable of reading the nativebar code on the received media disc through an opening in the case. 24.The system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users as claimed inclaim 1 where the prerecorded media discs are selected from the groupconsisting of CD's, DVD's, HD DVD's, Blu-ray® discs, Wii® games,Playstation® games, Nintendo® games, Xbox® games and a mixture thereof.25. A system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users comprising:a control system having a processor capable of accessing a libraryassociating native bar codes with content of prerecorded media discs,receiving the identification of a native bar code of a prerecorded mediadisc from an optical disc identification system adapted to read a nativebar code on a prerecorded media disc and receiving the identification ofthe content of said media disc by a disc drive capable of reading atleast part of the content of the prerecorded media discs, identifyingthe content of the prerecorded media read by the optical discidentification system and the content of prerecorded media discidentified by the disc drive, comparing the content of the receivedmedia disc identified by the native bar code with that identified by thedisc drive, transferring information to a user interface when theidentified contents do not match, directing a disc transfer system tostore the prerecorded media discs in selected locations of a discstorage system, and storing in a memory system the selected location andcontent of each prerecorded media disc, and the user interface systemoperably connected to the control system and adapted to receive aprerecorded media disc from a user, and including a buy-back activatorand at least one browsing and selection station operable by a user, theuser interface system is capable of receiving from the control system anidentification of the content of the received disc, communicating to theuser a buy-back price provided by the control system for the receiveddisc, and directing credit of a user account for the buy-back price ofthe received disc.
 26. The system of receiving prerecorded media discsfrom users as claimed in claim 25 where the user interface system isalso capable of issuing a credit or debit to the user for the buy-backprice of the received media disc based on comparing the contentsidentified by the optical identification system and by the disc drive.27. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users asclaimed in claim 25 where the user interface system is capable oftransferring the received disc to the optical disc identificationsystem.
 28. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs from usersas claimed in claim 25 where the optical disc identification system ispart of the user interface system and is adapted to read the native barcode on receipt of the media disc from the user.
 29. The system ofreceiving prerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 25where the user interface system is capable of receiving a useridentification of the content of a prerecorded media disc andcommunicating such user identification to the control system, and thecontrol system is capable of comparing the user identification of thecontent of the prerecorded disc media with the content identified by thenative bar code.
 30. The system of receiving prerecorded media discsfrom users as claimed in claim 25 where the user interface system iscapable of receiving from the control system an identification of aprerecorded media disc read by the optical disc identification systemand displaying such identification to the user.
 31. The system ofreceiving prerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 25where the optical disc identification system is capable of checking thequality of the prerecorded media disc and the user interface is capableof dispensing back to the user a received disc that does not meet agiven quality standard.
 32. The system of receiving prerecorded mediadiscs from users as claimed in claim 25 where the optical discidentification system is capable of checking the quality of the mediadisc and transferring a measure of the quality to the control system,and the control system is capable of adjusting the buy-back pricedisplayed to the user by the user interface system based on the measuredquality of the received media disc.
 33. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 25 furthercomprising a communication system capable of at least periodicallyupdating a buy-back price database with prices for used prerecordedmedia discs.
 34. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs fromusers as claimed in claim 25 where the communication system provides acontinual updating of the prices for used prerecorded media discs. 35.The system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users as claimed inclaim 25 where the control system is capable of instructing the userinterface system to dispense back to the user a received media disc thatcannot be identified by the native bar code.
 36. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 25 where thecontrol system is capable of identifying a prerecorded media disc whosenative bar code is not present in the library and updating the libraryassociating such native bar code with the content of the prerecordedmedia disc.
 37. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs fromusers as claimed in claim 36 where the library communicates with otherlike control systems, and is capable of verifying an association of suchnewly added native bar code with content of a prerecorded media discidentified by the control system.
 38. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 37 where thecontrol system is capable of directing debit of a credit previouslyissued to a user for a buy-back price paid for a received disc when thecontrol system is unable to verify the association between the nativebar code and the identification of the prerecorded media disc.
 39. Thesystem of receiving prerecorded media discs from users as claimed inclaim 25 where the user interface system is capable of reading a barcode from a case associated with the content of the received disc andtransferring such identification of the case bar code to the controlsystem, and where the control system is capable of comparing the disccontent associated with the case bar code with the disc contentassociated with the native bar code of the received disc identified bythe optical disc identification system and directing the user interfacesystem to inform the user when the disc content associated with thenative bar code does not agree with the disc content associated with thecase bar code.
 40. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs fromusers as claimed in claim 39 where the optical disc identificationsystem comprises: a disc holder adapted to support a received media discto expose a center hub of the media disc, a light source positioned toilluminate at least a portion of the hub of the media disc in the discholder, a sensor capable of capturing a digital image of at least aportion of the hub including a native bar code on the received mediadisc, and an image processor capable of reading the native bar code fromthe digital image.
 41. The system of receiving prerecorded media discsfrom users as claimed in claim 25 where the optical disc identificationsystem is capable of capturing a digital image of at least a portion ofa center hub of a received media disc containing a native bar code andreading the native bar code from the digital image of the hub of thereceived media disc.
 42. The system of receiving prerecorded media discsfrom users as claimed in claim 25 where the optical disc identificationsystem comprises: a disc holder adapted to support a received media discto expose a center hub of the media disc, a light source positioned toilluminate at least a portion of the hub of the media disc in the discholder, a sensor capable of capturing a digital image of at least aportion of the hub including a native bar code on the media disc, and animage processor capable of reading the native bar code from the digitalimage.
 43. The system of receiving prerecorded media discs from users asclaimed in claim 42 where the optical disc identification system furthercomprises: a mirror positioned to reflect an image of a surface of thereceived media disc illuminated by the light source, where the sensor iscapable of capturing the reflected image from the mirror of at least aportion of the surface of the media disc through an opening in thecenter hub of the received media disc, and where the control system iscapable of accessing a library of art work associated with content ofprerecorded media discs and is capable of comparing the reflected imagecaptured by the sensor with the art work in the library to identify thecontent of the received media disc.
 44. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 42 where theoptical disc identification system further comprises: a second lightsource positioned to illuminate at least a portion of a surface of thereceived media disc opposite the first light source, a second sensorcapable of capturing a digital image of at least a portion of thesurface of the received media disc illuminated by the second lightsource and transferring that digital image to the control system, andwhere the control system is capable of accessing a library of art workassociated with content of prerecorded media discs and is capable ofcomparing the digital image captured by the second sensor with the artwork in the library to identify the content of the received media disc.45. The optical disc identification system as claimed in claim 42 wherethe light source positioned to illuminate at least a part of the hub ofthe received media disc positioned in the disc holder is capable ofproducing light selected from the group consisting of indirect light,diffused light, and dispersed light.
 46. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 25 where theprerecorded media discs are bare discs.
 47. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 25 where theprerecorded media disc may be in a case and optical disc identificationsystem is capable of reading the native bar code on the received mediadisc through a window in the case.
 48. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 25 where theprerecorded media disc may be in a case and optical disc identificationsystem is capable of reading the native bar code on the received mediadisc through an opening in the case.
 49. The system of receivingprerecorded media discs from users as claimed in claim 25 where themedia discs are selected from the group consisting of CD's, DVD's, HDDVD's, Blu-ray® discs, Wii® games, Playstation® games, Nintendo® games,Xbox® games and mixture thereof.
 50. An optical disc identificationsystem comprising: a disc holder adapted to support a prerecorded mediadisc to expose a center hub of the media disc, a light source positionedto illuminate at least a portion of the hub of the media disc in thedisc holder, a sensor capable of capturing a digital image of at least aportion of the hub including a native bar code on the media disc, and animage processor capable of reading the native bar code from the digitalimage.
 51. The optical disc identification system as claimed in claim 50further comprising: a mirror positioned to reflect an image of a surfaceof the media disc illuminated by the light source, where the sensor iscapable of capturing the reflected image from the mirror of at least aportion of the surface of the media disc through an opening in thecenter hub of the media disc, and the image processor is capable ofcomparing the reflected image captured by the sensor with a library ofart work associated with the content of prerecorded media discs toidentify the content of the media disc.
 52. The optical discidentification system as claimed in claim 50 further comprising: asecond light source positioned to illuminate at least a portion of asurface of the media disc opposite the first light source, a secondsensor capable of capturing a digital image of at least a portion of thesurface of the media disc illuminated by the second light source andtransferring that image to the image processor, where the imageprocessor is capable of comparing the digital image captured by thesecond sensor with a library of artwork associated with the content ofprerecorded media discs to identify the content of the media disc. 53.The optical disc identification system as claimed in claim 50 where thelight source positioned to illuminate at least a part of the hub of thereceived media disc positioned in the disc holder is capable ofproducing light selected from the group consisting of indirect light,diffused light, and disperse light.
 54. The optical disc identificationsystem as claimed in claim 50 where the sensor has an adjustable focallength.
 55. The optical disc identification system as claimed in claim50 where the image processor is capable of selecting a linear section ofthe digital image and determining if the linear section intersects aportion of a native bar code.
 56. The optical disc identification systemas claimed in claim 50 where the image processor is capable ofidentifying an approximate location of the center of the media disc andmapping concentric ellipses from successive approximations of the centerof the media disc to identify and read the native bar code of the mediadisc.
 57. The optical disc identification system as claimed in claim 50where the image processor is capable of reading at least a portion ofthe native bar code and reporting the identified portion of the nativebar code to a control system.
 58. The optical disc identification systemas claimed in claim 50 where the disc holder comprises a pair of discsupports capable of maintaining the media disc on an pivot to facilitatemovement of the disc within the disc identification system.
 59. Theoptical disc identification system as claimed in claim 58 where the discsupports are formed of non-scratching material.